


Why me?

by turtledove542



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Kakashi is confused, Minor Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Root - Freeform, Self-Insert, but don't worry, danzou sucks, idk - Freeform, is it danzo, it's just danzou, no beta we die like men, or danzou
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2019-07-27 17:52:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16224245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turtledove542/pseuds/turtledove542
Summary: Being born in a new life and remembering my past life sucks, especially being reborn Naruto world, but that's okay, I'm cool, I'm chill, I'm TOTALLY FINE.Whatever. Roll with it.I'm not going to become a ninja (because I already tried and dropped out after a few years, and I would like to live past 22 this time, thankyouverymuch) and I'm not going to become one of those kick ass civilians from those fanfics either (I don't have the guts, even for something as small as that). I'm not even going to help raise Naruto because ew, small children, and he is very loud, and I'd rather not have the whole village shun me, and I totally can't.I'm just going to be that background character that you forget after 2 seconds, and I'm going to enjoy it.And I did.For a good 19 years of normal (-ish) life in the Naruto-verse.And then the vaguely familiar old man I'm having tea with disappears, and now I have 69 (hehehe) ROOT under my command, 42 (hehehe) of which are younger than me.Why me?Inspired by A cup of tea by dogsat4





	1. I get some new friends.

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [A Cup of Tea](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5114597) by [dogsat4](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dogsat4/pseuds/dogsat4). 



English is underlined though I probably won't use it

_Thoughts are in Italics._

**(Author Narration)**

for the purpose of this fic (And for me, canon is kind of confusing) Sai is 9 and in Root, Naruto is 8, shin is dead, the massacre has happened.

 

I walked down the street towards my favorite teashop, appreciating the sights and sounds around me. Leafy trees stretched high above, giving this street some much needed shade. Vendors lined the streets while tourists oohed and ahhed at the various trinkets and stands, the occasional blur flashing above on the rooftops. Just a normal autumn day for a normal civilian in the Village of the Leaves.

Well, as normal as possible for a person stranded in the Naruto-verse.

That's me.

Machika Fujimoto, formerly Lily Rivera.

Joy.

It was kind of funny, I had thought incredulously when I finally managed to put the pieces together all those years ago. I wasn’t a Naruto superfan, far from it actually. I liked Naruto, but I skipped a couple (Most of) the filler episodes and just stopped at the part where Naruto and Sasuke tried to kill each other on a hospital roof. I just… lost interest.

But I loved the fanfiction.

Inserting yourself into a world of your choice, changing the storyline and all the things that go wrong, designing and building your character…

Well, it sounded really cool.

Fast forward five years, and I’m dead.

And in Konohagakure, obviously.

When I created my character, that was it. Just a cool character to run scenarios in my head with. I didn’t want to be reborn in the Elemental Nations where hired mercenaries were commonplace and giant demons liked to step on people, I didn't want to kill or be killed. 

But that’s not the worst part. I came to terms with that.

Because after all those years of slowly piecing my past life together through dreams, I realized that I was my character.

But I wasn’t, at the same time.

Machiko Fujimoto was a ninja born into a small civilian clan with two loving, yet distant, parents with a safe childhood. She had a powerful sensing ability and decided to be a ninja. She was a genin for two years and then a chunin for three, before finally becoming a tokubetsu jounin and joining ANBU as canon fodder at the age of 17. She unlocked her previously unknown kekkei genkai on a mission gone wrong a while later and became a formidable ninja who was almost on par with the sannin.

Lily-turned-Machiko, however, didn’t have the guts or motivation to become a ninja.  Lily-turned-Machiko dropped out of the academy and never developed her kekkei genkai or chakra sensing. I really tried to be who Machiko was, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t kill, couldn’t save all those people, couldn’t try to keep Kakashi’s team seven together, couldn’t even be my own person because I had Machiko’s parents and house, her neighborhood and childhood friends (all that didn’t exist in canon, at least, not that I know of), her body. I had her slimmer body and tanner skin, her slightly taller height and her birthmark on her hip that looked like a drunk seahorse.

I couldn’t even try to be Machiko as a civilian because I had my face.

Slimmed down a tad and darkened slightly to fit her body better, but I still somehow had _my_ wider face and _my_ light brown hair instead of Machiko’s narrow complexion and her dark blue hair.

My (Machiko’s, mine were gone for a long time) parents were quite surprised when my features, more common in Earth country, (another thing that was different from canon, pretty sure canon Earth country natives didn’t look like me) randomly popped up. They just shrugged their shoulders and chalked it up to some hidden genes.

Anyways, normal day, yadda yadda, going to get my afternoon tea and chat with the old man with bandages on one arm and on half his face. He was nice, and we talked a lot about mundane things. Every time I tried to ask him about himself, he would simply laugh and say something else, and a few minutes later we would be talking about a completely different topic. I was pretty sure he was a retired ninja, with all those bandages and how he always managed to turn the conversation around so easily. Maybe he was lonely, or needed to keep his mind off things or something. He looked familiar, and I always got a feeling like I should know him, but I figured he was just a side character that I read about on the wiki, or something. Still...

I sat down in the small tea shop, ordered my usual green tea with dango from the waitress that always gave me weird looks, and sat in comfortable silence, enjoying the moment.

 

The old man didn’t show up.

 

It wasn’t the end of the world, he had to skip our little tea sessions before, but he always apologized the next day and all was forgotten.

 

Slightly disappointed, I left an hour and a half later and debated on whether I wanted to purchase the new Icha Icha book. Believe it or not, but Jiraiya is actually a good author and according to the wiki, he hides secret messages in his books. I always think that it's fun to decipher the meanings that he hides in his literature, between trying not to turn red and attempting to skip over the smutty scenes (But he always puts the most fascinating tidbits in there, and no, I'm not _trying_ to read it. It just happens. Shut up.)

 

I walked back to the apartment, deciding not to buy the book (yet) and trudged up the stairs. Elevators did exist, but only the tallest and/or fanciest new apartments had them, and although my apartment was very nice, it wasn't very tall, and was an older building that managed to survive the Kyuubi. It was a good-sized three bedroom, two bath with a small study.

 

It was nice and cozy, and I had only been able to afford it was because, get this, I had started translating Harry Potter. It was an instant hit, surprisingly, and is now considered a classic by kids and teens and some adults of all ages, both civilian and ninja, but it took forever to figure out and write. Wizards aren’t heard of so I have to replace those with ninjas, I have to somehow write it in a non-offending way so I don’t get killed for treason, I have to come up with names for _every single thing_ -

 

Do you know how hard coming up for a name for quidditch and quaffle is? It’s hard.

 

But hey, I'm in the middle of the fourth book and I'm rather proud of myself.

 

Is it plagiarism? Yes. Is it legal? No. Would I get arrested? Yes. Is there anyone to arrest me? No. My point exactly, so yes, I do occasionally feel guilty but whatever.

 

I took out my keys, unlocked the door, and stepped inside, taking off my shoes and humming to myself before realizing that someone was in the apartment. I may not have had an overpowered awesome sensing ability, but I could still pick up most ninja if they were nearby and not hiding themselves, and this ninja wasn’t even trying. I had frozen really obviously as my heart started going a mile a minute.

 

I slowly turned around, looking down at the ground first to try and calm myself down. Shinobi sandals in black, which was already weird since most were navy. Regulation pants in black. My heart nearly stopped at the dark grey flak jacket, much too dark to be an ANBU’s. Which meant…

 

I stared at the smooth, white porcellian, devoid of any markings as my breathing quickened and I stepped back slightly.

 

_Shit. SHIT._

_How did this happen? I didn't do anything suspicious, and I didn't tell anyone that I could see the future, other than a cryptic reference or two when I was like, ten! Danzo can't kidnap me for that, right? RigHT? What do I do, what do I do, I'm never going to see the light of day again, should I run? No, this is a Root member, I can't fight, I can't talk my way out, what do I do? Nothing, because I’m going to DIE. AHHHHHHHHHHH_

 

Oblivious to my panic attack and internal screaming, the Root shinobi stepped forward and held a scroll out, dropping to his knee, head bowed. I paused my internal screeching and looked at him, puzzled, as the terror started to give way to confusion.I stood there awkwardly for a good couple of seconds or so before realizing that the scroll was for me. I tentatively took the scroll out of his hand, noting that it somehow smelled very strongly of sake and something... else, before carefully unrolling the scroll, avoiding what looked like slightly damp spots and _why am_ _I doing this-_

_Dear Fujimoto Machika, the beautiful rose blossom of Konoha, my secret lover, the love of my life, the reason for my very being,_

 

What.

 

_I, Shimura Danzo, have recently decided that I cannot go on in this wretched world. The Pain, The Agony, is to much for me to bear, and I -_

 

There were a bunch of scribbles there, and it looked a little smeared, almost as if someone had fallen asleep on it for a good five seconds before waking up and continuing. There’s a powder stuck on here, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to touch it.

 

_-And so, I must pass this large resposi rponas reposiblty burden on you. The good of Konoka Konoha lies in your really pretty fingernails. All active Root members are now in your service, an will follow you to the end of the world, as I will soon have the whole village and you will need the best bodygaurds._

 

There is a doodle of what I assume is a Root mask, but it looks more like a pumpkin than anything. Is that ash? What does he mean by queen? I continued reading, hoping to gain some insight.

 

_I have always loved our tea sessions, and you light up my day, and you are great, and I think I'm in love, and I trust you, and you're really great and-_

 

What.

 

_-You're the bestest, and that's why I trust you. You have a seal on your shoulder and you can summon any ROOT members with it and make new ones with it if you put a little bit of their blood and yours on it, and then make a sign. Rat, or Tiger maybe. I have included a pamphlet, my lady love, though your intelligence is unmatched, like your delicate beauty-_

 

I made a face because first of all, ew, gross, blood (Yet another reason Lily-turned-Machiko couldn't be a ninja) and second of all…

 

I turned around, looking at my right shoulder, and then my left, and lo and behold, there was a seal. I had no idea how it got there, but it looked permanent, like it was tattooed on my skin, thick dark lines each about a centimeter thick shifting as I rolled my shoulder. How did that-You know what though? I'm not in the mood. I might as well read the rest before my brain catches up. Stuff in a box and ignore it for now.

 

_My elegant blossom, the culmination of my being, my one true-_

 

That is a really big sake stain, and that (Sugar? Salt? I didn’t want to know) looked suspicious. It covered up a lot of the words, and I struggled to read some of them.

 

_-the joy of my soul, with your luscious brown and gold hair and entrancing brown eyes shimmering in the noble sun, your tan skin and exotic features,_

 

Unusual maybe, because I had been born in America, where I was considered slightly exotic but not overly interesting or beautiful. I did keep my light brownish gold highlights though, which was weird but not unappreciated.

 

_The future is in your hands! I trust you to make the best decisions for Konoha as my new queen-_

 

Definitely drugs, and wow, I didn't know that they had weed here.

_Love, your secret lover, the love of your life, who loves you,_

_Shimura Da-_

                nz

                     0o

 

I think that's sake mixed with ink, with at least meth, crack and weed on it. I remembered those from some wild college parties. Don't ask me about it, I don't remember.

 

I slowly lowered the scroll, hoping I was hallucinating the last 5 minutes. Nope. The Root was still in front of me, crouching and bowing his head, but at least the sheer terror was mostly gone.

 

"Um..." I said awkwardly, not sure what I was doing. "Uh, rise."

He rose, and I realized that he was an inch taller than me though he looked around 14, at the most.

 

"Ah... So, I'm Root's leader? And you'll do my bidding and whatnot?"

He nodded. "All sixty-nine of us are under your command, Fujimoto-sama. Root shinobi Horse reporting to duty."

 

His voice was really  creepy, like a blank slate. It would have fit in a crowd very well and there was nothing unique about it, except the fact that there _was_ nothing unique about it. There was no emotion either, and he sounded like a machine. Also, sama? That was a first.

 

I stood there for a few seconds before I asked, "If you don't mind me asking, um... What happened to Danzo? Is he..." No alarms had been raised and the ink on the letter was the fancy type that took at least ten minutes to dry.

 

He bowed his head. "Danzo-sama dismissed me, sending me to deliver this message, before going on a drunken rampage fueled by questionable substances. He revealed to the council and to the Hokage things that he himself covered up. His twelve personal guards perished in the following combat, and it is unknown whether Danzo-sama has escaped. Protocol 4 states that all Root shinobi must withdraw from their positions and retreat to faculty 205 and 206, located in training ground 44, or The Forest of Death. Protocol 4 was followed. Eight Root agents were killed in the ensuing combat. There are currently sixty-nine ROOT agents left, including trainees. Two are on their way back to the village. I worry that the ANBU will find our location, as they are currently combing through the main base and may find evidence of there being more bases, even though it was destroyed."

 

Alright then. Okay. Alright. The old man I had tea with is a pervert a crush on me, _was_ a pervert with a crush on me, and is councilman Danzo, official crazy person that trained children to be perfect little emotionless soldiers. My first thought was, _how did I not notice this?_ and my second thought was, _I'm in charge of child soldiers with no emotions._ He was dead though, or at least captured. He couldn’t be Hokage. My mind briefly flashed to all the things he did. The Uchiha massacre (yet another thing I couldn’t save because I was a _coward-_ ) kidnapping children, working with Orochimaru and the Akatsuki, the list goes on. All for the ‘good’ of Konoha

 

_Why me?_

 

I’m in charge of emotionless soldiers, including trainees. Oh God, including _trainees._ Children. Tiny children who were trained to be emotionless machines.

 

 _You know what?_ I said to myself trying to calm myself down _, I'm okay, I'm chill, I'm perfectly sane. Okay. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. Stuff it in a box. Deal with it later._

 

Okay. Now that I've (Mostly) calmed down, what do I do?

Option one: Tell the Hokage

Pros: I get the ROOT off my back, and they would probably get therapy and be integrated back into society. Probably. I wouldn't have to deal with them, and I could get back to my life. They could help get the seal off me.

 

Cons: They don't give the ROOT members therapy, and I feel super guilty. A Yamanaka goes through my mind and realizes that I remember my past life and all of my knowledge, and I spend the rest of my life stuck in a cell or being watched by ANBU. I get tortured because Ibiki or whoever's in charge doesn't believe me. They find out about the future and change some things so much that everyone dies when Kaguya or Orochimaru comes along. They can't get the seal off, or mess it up and end up killing everyone. The last few are exaggerations, but still.

 

Alright, too many cons, not enough pros, but it's still an option.

 

Option two: Take them in like in that fanfic I read.

 

Pros: I would feel good about myself, could make them less emotionally constipated, have some company. Make an impact without doing much.

 

Cons: Some of them can't be fixed and I feel bad, some are suspicious and don't trust me, some of them are too far gone and feel like they should be doing something, and are too loyal to Danzo, someone finds out and I get sent to T&I, though it's not likely.

A little better, more investment, more results, and I probably won't be locked up forever.

 

Option three: Order them to turn themselves in.

 

Pros: Same as option one, and I might not get caught

 

Cons: They find out that it's me who dropped them off and all of option one's cons happen, they can't say anything because of the seal (but they could still write, so), they panic and start a fight and/or commit suicide, because I'm pretty sure they're trained to do that.

 

That option can be a last resort, I guess.

 

Horse, ever patient, was waiting in front of me. His back was straight, his mask impossible to see through.

 

"Hey Horse, it's horse right?"

 

"Yes, Fujimoto-sama."

 

"So, Horse-san, how long have you been in Root? Do you guys have special jobs?”

  


"I have been in Root for a total of 9 years. I was hand-picked by Danzo-sama from an orphanage when I was 3 years old. I am currently 12. I am one of Danzo-sama’s most trusted messengers, in addition to going on missions. My training was completed when I was 8. Most Root shinobi do not have a special designation."

 

I'm pretty sure I detected a hint of pride in his voice, which was both good and bad. Good, because it shows that he does have a tiny bit of some emotion, and bad, for obvious reasons.”

 

"Oh, where are my manners! I need to make you tea, I think. Yes, that's what people do when other people come to their house. Alright, Oolong, green tea or chai?"

I didn't just randomly say that because it was polite to offer tea (Even though it is and I totally forgot) but to test him to see if he could think for himself. I thought it was pretty clever, even though any shinobi or a half-decent civilian would have picked up on it, I realized a second to late. The Root did not pick up on it,somehow, and stood there.

 

"Are you going to say something? I offered you a choice. There is no right or wrong. Oolong, green or chai? This is your decision."

 

Horse stood there, dumbstruck. I snapped my fingers in his face. He tensed a little, as any good shinobi would've, but still stood there. He stayed very still for a few more seconds before seemingly coming to his senses. "I would like what you think is best,” he said respectively.

 

I raised an eyebrow. “I would like whatever you would like. There is no right or wrong.”

 

He stood there. “I don’t…” he said softly, as if he forgot he was talking to me, “I haven't had tea in…” his voice sounded quiet and a little sad. There was definitely a story behind that.

 

"Forgive me, Fujimoto-sama. I have shown emotion. Punish me as you wish," he said suddenly, standing up straight again, the little bit of emotion in his voice gone again.

 

I was stunned. I literally offered him tea. _Tea_. I thought that he might be confused, or just randomly pick one, but nope, he just had to make me feel awkward and sad.

 

"Hey, it's okay. Emotion is good, believe it or not. I could always make all three, and you could tell me which one you like, y'know. I don't mind. Danzo sucks, by the way. Everything he said about holding back emotions and you guys being tools? Ignore that. Danzo's dead, or will be soon, and y'all are under my command now. So... There." I ended a little awkwardly. I walked over to the kitchen and started to heat the water on the stove. Horse looked like he had seen a ghost, or at least I assumed he did, but I couldn't tell what he was thinking because of that stupid mask. "And take off the mask. It's creepy. You're a human, not a horse."

Horse hesitated before slowly removing his mask, and he looked... Average. At least, the average for an anime world where pink, purple, blue and green hair with eyes that came in every color were the norm. With red-brown hair and golden-brown eyes with lightly tanned skin, he looked impossibly young. Most ninja his age were painting fences and catching cats, and here he was, repressing emotions and taking missions that would have scarred most jounin for life.

 

Horse stopped for a moment, his face betraying his feelings. "But that goes against everything I have been taught! Our training is the best, designed to repress all instincts and turn us into perfect weapons, capable of protecting Konohagakure to the greatest extent! The code states that we must not show anything! We must be sacrificed so that the- ah. I have spoken too loud. I deserve to...to..."

 

My goodness. These people are worse off than I thought. "You're all good. New rule, emotion is encouraged now. Go shunshin away and get your friends, will you? I've got to explain some stuff to all of you. And tell them to take off their masks. They're creepy."

 

He looked slightly shocked and so very lost. “...Friends?” he asked tentatively.

 

I sighed. "Go get the other members of Root, kid."

 

He nodded slightly and disappeared in a swirl of leaves. I scowled at them as they floated about my living room.

  
"Jesus _Christ_."


	2. Kakashi is too old for this

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi is too old to be dealing with this. The council and everybody else in the tower agrees.

 

I don't know how cannon goes, but in this fic, the Kyuubi attacked when kakashi was 14. Kakashi is 22 now. Torune is the same age as Naruto, 8, and has been in root for a year.

 

Kakashi was relaxing in his apartment instead of visiting the memorial stone, ( _I'msorryiwansn'tstrongenoughiwasn'tfastenough)_ thoroughly annoyed at the alarm that had sounded just minutes ago, sending a message to all of the ninjas in code.

_Lockdown. All ninja and civilian stay in your building. Do not come out until instructed. All ANBU on mission roster, report to the Hokage. Repeat. Lockdown. All ninja and civilian stay in your homes. Do not come out until instructed. All ANBU on mission roster, report to the Hokage._

Kakashi mourned the fact that he was not on the mission roster as of two weeks ago, as the council had decided to shove a silly civilian girl with  _pink hair,_ of all things, the angstiest little Uchiha that he had ever had the pleasure of seeing, and-

Minato Sensei's son, the Kyuubi jinchuriki on to him. 

He understood their reasoning. There was a chance, however small, that the Kyuubi would be able to break free, and there was a chance, however small, that he could control it.

He was meeting his team on Friday, three days away, and he can't stand the thought of Sensei's-

A message hawk fluttered down on his windowsill, a small scroll attached to its leg, and started to impatiently tap at the window.

Kakashi, slightly miffed at being interrupted in the middle of his angst, opened the window. His eye widened slightly when he realized that the scroll had a red band around it, and he quickly nicked his thumb on his canine before pressing it onto a small seal, unlocking the scroll so it didn't maim/kill him.

He noted the official Hokage's seal, scanned the message as quickly as possible, and paused halfway through.

 _Dead._  The old geezer was finally  _dead._  How? The message held no details. Had Hiruzen realized what was really going on? Had someone intercepted a Root shinobi? He had to know how this went down. He quickly mourned his streak of being at least half an hour late to everything before deciding that this was more important.

He jumped out his window, not even bothering to turn off the lights or even read the rest of the message, and made it there in one minute. That had to be a record, but he didn't stop to think about it.

He ran up the wall and jumped in the window. The guards, who usually only tensed and relaxed when they saw that it was only him, ran toward him at full speed, one tackling him and holding a kunai to his throat, the other holding chakra cuffs, ready to clip them on, the other helping the first one pin him down with a handful of shuriken held near his pressure points, another moving towards the window so that they could intercept anyone else coming.

"Maa, and here I thought that you were my friends," Kakashi said, voice muffled by his face on the floorboards.

There was a long pause as they verified that he was who he looked like, before a female voice stated, "Clear."

"Kakashi-san," One of them said, getting off of him and offering a hand. "You know you're not supposed to do that anymore. Doors exist. Why are you here, anyway? The village is on lockdown."

"Hokage's orders. Where is he?" Kakashi asked, noting the empty office and accepting and pulling himself up before flashing the scroll at the guard.

"Council room, with the clan heads and the council. I'll escort you there." He replied, glancing at the Hokage's seal.

Eight minutes, 28 seconds and a slightly awkward silence later, he arrived at the room. The guard, suddenly stiff and tense again, nodded at Kakashi before walking back to the Hokage's office. Kakashi politely knocked before less politely barging in. He looked like he had just interrupted a heated argument, with all the muffling seals activated. The normally cool and collected Aburame clan head was slightly flushed and obviously angry, the Yamanaka clan head was standing up, facing down two councilmen on the other side of the table, faces flushed, Ibiki growling at someone on the other side of the table. Sarutobi Hiruzen, wearing the Hokage's robes (butheshouldntbehokage) sat at the end of the table, the position of power, but looking less like the Hokage he was supposed to be and more like the old man he really was, his beard looking whiter than ever and his hands in his face.

Kakashi, sensing the seriousness of the situation, decided to totally wing it. He smiled his shitty eye smile that made half the room sigh in exasperation and the other half shake their heads.

"What did I miss?"

Ten minutes later and Kakashi was already exhausted. He had a headache and the strong urge to throttle several people. He knew what happened, just the basics, Hiruzen had gotten that far before the room burst back into chaos.

Danzo, fueled by rage, alcohol and good ol' drugs, had taken twelve of his personal guards and had attempted to lay siege to the Hokage tower. They failed miserably, with twelve Root against dozens of ANBU, and Danzo had unveiled his arm, full of stolen Sharingan, along with Shisui's eye. He would've easily defeated all of them, even when on some trippy stuff and alcohol, but he was so busy ranting and mwahaha-ing that Tenzo had had time to hit him in the neck. Danzo had promptly died from overdose an hour later. 

The councilmen who had totally been paid by Danzo were either being suspiciously quiet or defending themselves very loudly, a few of the clan heads who didn't like Danzo at all were radiating a very distinct and annoying  _I told you so_  aura, the Aburame and Yamanaka clan heads were screeching about kidnapped children (Well, Inoichi was screeching. Shibi was speaking at what would be slightly louder than normal for some people, but he might as well have been screeching.)

Shikaku and Choza were quietly debating in a corner, with Shikaku occasionally making a scathing comment toward a councilman that would make them stutter and turn red from embarrassment and anger.

Tsume, the Inuzuka clan head, was supporting her fellow clan heads and yelling at all the councilmen and cursing so much that a few people nearby covered their ears.

The minor clan heads were either sputtering, trying to calm a few people down, or yelling at the council and each other.

The muffling seals were straining to keep all the noise in, and the seals that were keeping people from using chakra were weakening at a worrying pace.

Sarutobi was in the middle of all of it, head in his hands, mourning for a friend that he had lost long ago. ( _obitorinminatosenseikushina)_

" **QUIET!** " Sarutobi finally boomed out, and even though he was nowhere near his peak, he was still intimidating. The effect was instantaneous and everyone quieted down immediately. "Ex-councilman Danzo did horrible things, we know. The Uchiha massacre, kidnapping children, hiring Orochimaru... My ANBU are currently investigating his base. Ibiki is currently starting an investigation. I expect full cooperation from  _all_ of you." 

A few councilmen started to argue but blanched and quickly shut up when Sarutobi released a bit of Killing Intent into the air and glared at them.

"I'd love to stay here and debate all day, but I'd much rather go over more pressing problems," Shikaku said, his normally lazy drawl full of anger and annoyance. He nodded at Sarutobi, who sighed.

"Right. As you know, we have recently found out that Danzo had not disbanded ROOT like I had ordered him to. Instead, he was kidnapping both promising orphans and clan children. However, when my ANBU stormed the base, they were evacuating. We managed to kill five of them and capture three, but they performed a suicide jutsu and we were unable to identify them. The rest disappeared, and my ANBU are tracking them."

"But where did they go?!" Tsume yelled, always quick to anger. "If they knew their leader was dead, why flee, and risk being captured? Why not perform a suicide jutsu as the others did, or make a last stand?"

Sarutobi sighed again. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "Because Danzo had a backup. Another leader, a second in command."

The room stilled as if everyone was holding their breath.

"When Danzo went on his... rampage, he was extremely intoxicated and on questionable substances. He wrote several notes, claiming that he had a lover and an heir who was, and I quote, 'Beautiful, the love of my life, strong and true, my pristine rosebud, the culmination of my soul, the Yin to my yang. She is mine forever, you'll never find her, she's more powerful than all of the Sannin combined, she has massive reserves and is totally loyal to me, the ultimate general, mwahaha.' There were more notes of the same sort, all with Danzo's handwriting, that I'd rather not read out loud. The notes claimed she was part Uzumaki," the room gasped, "Nara, Yamanaka," the room gasped a little more audibly, "part Hatake and part Uchiha."

The room flailed about, and more than one person fell out of their chairs as arguing erupted. 

"... How accurate are these claims?" Kakashi asked quietly. The council and remaining clan heads quieted down immediately, staring expectantly at Hiruzen.

"We don't know," the Hokage admitted. "But Danzo would have no reason to lie."

Everyone was silent, afraid to break the tension floating in the air and swirling around the Hatake. Hiruzen spoke again.

"We are still trying to piece together who this 'Pristine rosebud' is, but we do know that she is extremely powerful, and is probably located underground, as we have not been able to locate anybody with a chakra signature that big. She may also be phenomenal at suppressing her chakra signature, making it seem like a genin or a low chunin's, at most." Sarutobi completed.

The room was still quiet, miraculously.

And then it exploded into noise.

"How can she have..."

"Impossible!"

"A kunoichi couldn't possibly..."

"Hey! Take that back!"

 "WOOF!"

"Where could she..."

"Do you think..."

"I would've sensed..."

"How could this..."

"He took MY..."

Kakashi died a little inside.

_Why me?_


	3. Chapter 3, in which I may or may not have a little bit of Uzumaki in me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I try to give impromptu therapy, I kind of succeed, and I rename Root.

Horse came back, mask still in hand, with 67 other ROOT shinobi (One was still coming back from a mission) who all had their masks off. They brought with them five entire boxes of ration bars (Which was kind of smart, considering that I'll probably have to buy food every day, which wasn't that big of a problem because I was basically a multi-millionaire, but _still_ ) and a lot of seals and traps. A lot of seals and traps. Like, each-person-having-at-least-ten-seals-to-stick-on-doors-and-windows-which-they-did-immediately a lot.

After they decided to cover the entire inside of my house, they still had plenty of leftovers.

I beamed at them, slightly touched that they would help protect me, before realizing that they were literally trained to do so. But hey, they didn't hate my guts! Yet. Well, it was sort of hard to tell. 

I sighed a bit, a little sad, when I started to spot children, young children that couldn't have been more than seven. Young children that were taken out of orphanages, the streets, and even clans. I spotted children that couldn't be more than six, along with seven and eight-year-olds.

If Danzo wasn't already dead...

I didn't even realize I was radiating killing intent until some of the people closest to me shuddered, and one of the children, a tiny girl with green hair and hazel eyes, fell over.

I was mildly alarmed at the heavy feeling in the air before I realized that it was coming from me. I quickly shut it off, mildly shocked that I had been able to summon that much Killing Intent when the only thing remotely ninja that I could do was a henge.

Probably some sort of hidden, never-before-seen Kekkei Genkai that would swoop in and save me in my dying moments.

Anyways.

Alright. What do I do?

I have 68 unemotional killers in my house, mostly physically incapable of feelings, (Except for horse. I'm pretty sure that he secretly hid his and clung on to humanity, I need to find out if anyone else did that) but I'm pretty sure I can fix that with some good talking it out.

"Alright. Do you feel anything? Like, emotions n' stuff?" I asked gesturing for them to sit down and dying inside. They sat in the neat, orderly rows that they appeared in, setting their masks down on their lap. 

_Wow, off to a great start._

_Shut up, subconsciousness._

_You shut up!_

_No, You-_

"Nothing, Fujimoto-sama," one of them replied, voice hollow. He was holding a squirrel mask, and looked around 15.

"Nope, wrong answer," I said. I was going to continue, but the look on his face stopped me. Time for some impromptu group therapy, I guess.

"Forgive me, Fujimoto-sama, I-"

"Nope," I said, noting the mildly confused and wary look on his face. "New rule, no sama. Call me Machiko, I never really got formalities, and let me finish. It's the wrong answer because everyone feels something. You feel happy, sad, confused, angry, content, bored, impressed, wary, nauseous. Everyone is always feeling something, got that? Feelings are good. Stop repressing your emotions. Start being human again. You are not tools, and you are not another blank mask in a crowd. You are a person, with aspirations and dreams and hobbies, likes and dislikes and  _names._ It's okay, I'm not Danzo, he's dead, and won't be coming back to hurt you ever again. You can have friends, you can form bonds, you can fall in love, and you can be free to do whatever pleases you, as long as it isn't against the law."

A few of them looked openly shocked (Well, more like their eyes were a fraction larger than normal, and their eyebrows were raised a bit higher than usual. Any civilian or genin, most of the chunnin and any incompetent jounin wouldn't have been able to tell, but I always have been good at reading emotions and looking underneath the underneath in this world. Ha, reference.)

The older ones were either suspicious, blank, or wary, the ones my age looked mildly confused and dare I say,  _hopeful,_ and the young teens were showing a bit more emotion, with Horse flat out  _beaming._

The young children and pre-teens were all smiling, with varying degrees of realness, and Woah, capital W and everything. I just did that. That was  _Naruto_ levels of encouragement, considering that these people were supposed to be emotionless killing machines. Either that or Danzo was too arrogant to pick up on the small hints and expressions of lingering humanity. Probably both.

"Alright, minions, is it okay if I call you that? 'Course it is, first order of business. We're rebranding! Root is such a stupid name. I know stupid-face wanted it to be all like,  _'We are the root of everything,'_ or something like that, but it's more like he's at the Root of all problems, y'know? Any suggestions? Feel free to share. This is a judge free zone. We all respect your opinions."

 Everyone seemed to be mildly surprised at my bluntness and my complete 180, but they recovered quickly, and a few seemed to actually  _think_ about it. Actually think. Wow, I'm good. I have no idea why I don't have any sane friends.

Or any friends.

After about a minute of brainstorming,  I had a sudden idea. It was so great, so smart, so creative, and so clever that I had to say it out loud.

 "How about... Not Root? I mean, think about it. We were Root, but now we're not. We can call it Nroot! Or maybe just Noot, since Nroot is kind of hard to pronounce. It would be so great. All in favor, say I."

A few of them shrugged and looked around. They seemed to have a silent conversation that probably went something like:

_Are we really going to agree to this?_

_Who cares? At least she isn't making us repress our emotions. Danzo sucked._

_He did. Might as well. I always thought that Root was a stupid name anyways. This lady's cool._

"I," Horse said. A few more Noot agents shrugged.

"I."

"I."

"I."

"I."

Half of them went on to say 'I', while the other half remained stoically silent, or quietly confused. Good enough.

"Yay!" I said, feeling rather cheerful. An alarm chose to go off at that moment, causing several Noot agents to jump like a cat when it sees a cucumber. I could recognize the first bit of the sequence, all civilians were required to know whether to evacuate or not, and how urgent the situation was, but only genin and up knew the second bit. Kept gossip to a minimum. Supposed to keep gossip to a minimum. 

"SEE? EVEN THE ALARM AGREES WITH US!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol dont forget to leave kudos, but only if you want to. Comments also make me feel warm and fuzzy and slightly awkward because I'm not sure if I should reply but keep leaving them. I internally squeal when I get one so thanks
> 
> What else do I write help me plez


	4. Horse is pleasently surprised.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Horse internally cheers when Danzo dies. Also, angst, and a bit of fluff, because I've been itching to write an angsty chapter for horse.

It started out as a normal day for Root shinobi Horse.

Get up, train, deliver a scroll, eat a few bars, rest for a few minutes when no one is looking, train the newbies, tail a person who Danzo-sama wants killed.

Horse is still alive, when half the people -not even people anymore, because Danzo-sama's training worked on them- when half the  _tools_  that are walking and breathing and eating are surviving.

They've survived the harsh training regimes, but they aren't alive, not anymore, not inside where it counts.

Horse is half-dead as it is; he doesn't even remember his own name. If not for Tortoise-san, an agent that wasn't as brainwashed as the others, teaching him how to shield himself, to hide that spark of life, to wear a cloak, he would be dead, dead as the rest of them.

Horse is grateful that Tortoise-san taught as many agents as possible who were brave enough to pass those teachings on. Horse certainly wasn't.

But then Tortoise-san tried to make a stand when he was guarding Danzo-sama, and look where that got him.

Dead, dead as the rest of them. 

So Horse bides his time and waits, waits for the right moment to strike.

Danzo calls while he's stalking an ex-shinobi (one of the rare ones that lived to be over 30, that makes Horse is slightly wistful because he'll never reach 20 at the rate he's going) evidenced by the dull ache of the seal on his right shoulder turning into a painful burn.  **(A/N this is definitely not Canon but it is now)**

He draws on his metaphorical cloak as tightly as possible and leaps away, hopping across rooftops without a sound. Both the civilians and ninja would never question an ANBU, and he looks enough like one that they don't even glance his way, even though he's headed to the west, while the Hokage's tower is northeast and the gates are south.

When he's close enough, Horse shunshins into an ally like any other near the red light district. He pricks his thumb on his kunai and crouches down, placing his bloodied thumb on a tiny invisible seal that he knows is there, and then taking several steps back.

Several poisoned senbon shoot out the walls and land near the entrance.Horse counts to ten, and three kunai land near the senbon.

He steps forward again, this time pressing his still bloodied thumb on a different brick with yet another seal, and the hidden entrance opens without any hassle.

He steps through, stopping for a millisecond to adjust his metaphorical cloak once more, and makes his way towards the center of the labyrinth, the burning in his shoulder growing to white hot pain.

But he ignores it, as he is trained to do, and his steps never falter.

Until he walks into Danzo-sama's office.

"Oh my goodness, Horse, donkey, whatever you are, dude, I am... SO high. Like, dude, dude, dude dude dude, SO HIGH. Dude, I snorted so much weed, and I smoked so much crack, and I ate so much meth, dude." Danzo-sama says, his breath on Horses face, and Horse automatically recoils a bit at the strong smell of sake and...Well, he doesn't want to be inhaling that, just in case. 

It takes a second to register, but when it does, Horse is so shocked that his cloak completely slips off, and all of his emotions are laid out in his body language for all to see. Danzo-sama's bloodshot eye narrows slightly and he opens his mouth, and Horse has enough time to think  _This is the end, taken down by a drunk and high Danzo,_ before Danzo-sama stumbles and nearly collapses. One of his twelve personal guards (He started choosing the best of the best and the most brainwashed soldiers for his protection and assigned them as permanent guards after the thing with Tortoise-san) rushes out from the shadows and rights him, and Danzo-sama grins stupidly before shooing the guard away. The guard disappears into the shadows, and Horse takes the distraction and pulls his cloak around him as tightly as possible. Danzo doesn't notice.

"Donkey, dude, Y'know how I'm doing all this stuff for Konoha? Well, fun fact, but I been using that lie for so long that I've gone crazy and I believe my own lie, which is kind of sad, ain't it? Anywho, I'm off to become Hokage and kill anyone who opposes me. For the good of Konoha, of course, dude. 'M gonna lay siege! twelve Root are enough, right? Probs. Old man can't kill me, no one can kill me. MWAHHAHAHAHA! Oh, an' jus' in case, if anything happen, give this scroll to my beautiful rosebud, Machika Fujimoto. She lives on Aspen street, in the north quarter, apartment number 43, red brick building with a houseplant in front. Don' worry, she cool, she chill, but she also really cute. Her luscious hair, her creamy skin, her chocolate eye... eyes," Danzo-sama went on, his flushed face getting a far-off look.

"Give to her after I be...come Hokage, I guess, dude. You can be backup. Onwards!" Danzo-sama cries, grinning madly. He marches out of the room, presumably to head to the Hokage's tower, before stopping at the entrance of the room and looking back. "Protocol four if anything happens, dude. YEE!"

And then he disappears, while Horse's mind whirls at the possibilities behind his mask. 

Protocol four.  _Protocol four._

Protocol one is the most basic of protocols. If Danzo dies, everyone activates their suicide jutsu and dies with him. 

Protocol two is slightly different. Instead of everyone committing suicide by jutsu, everyone rushes into the battle zone and fights until they're dead. Anyone who survives then commits suicide. Pretty brutal.

Protocol three is like protocol two, except with a lot more stealth. Complete the last objectives as well as possible before assassinating several different people that Danzo-sama wouldn't have gotten away with killing when he was alive. The list changes every year. Then activate the suicide jutsu.

Protocol four is the only one that Horse likes, and the only one that's not going to happen. If Danzo-sama dies, they are to flee to an old, known lab in the forest of death that has already been searched several times. The head messenger, or the closest to Danzo-sama, would deliver a scroll to the new leader _._ Horse isn't sure why it exists because Danzo would _never_ hand over the organization that he had built to anyone. 

Except for Machiko Fujimoto, apparently. 

Horse takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out. He's never heard of a Machiko Fujimoto, or even a Fujimoto clan, so she must be good at hiding her identity, which means she must be powerful, which means that he can't make his move. He can't risk it. He can't become like Tortoise-san, he has to stay alive, he wants to live. He wants to be free.

So Horse bides his time and waits, waits for the right moment to strike, and he tails Danzo-sama from a safe distance.

 

Horse is torn between laughing, cringing and dying of embarrassment. 

Danzo-sama is down to five guards and is currently monologuing rather loudly. Horse _could_ listen in, but based on the looks that the ANBU surrounding him are giving each other, he's not sure if he wants to.

Someone is sneaking up behind Danzo-sama.

He should do something. He should leap behind the ANBU Cat, he should end Cat's life to protect Danzo-sama's and risk his own in the process, he should do what he was trained to do, but he can't.

He can't do this anymore.

He watches Danzo uncover his eye and slowly unwrap his arm and is horrified by the ten Sharingan staring back at him, and an eleventh one staring at the ANBU. The ANBU are horrified too as Danzo cackles and monologues some more.

ANBU Cat slits the throat of the ROOT agent right behind Danzo-sama and lowers her to the ground, and it's now or never.

Horse chooses never.

Cat hovers near Danzo-sama for a second before chopping at one of the pressure points on his neck. Danzo-sama crumples to the ground in slow motion and Cat leaps back, just missing Danzo's guards by half a second.

The other ANBU take this opportunity to leap forward, and the rest of the Root are dead within the minute.

Horse slowly backs up and flees the area. Protocol four, and Horse will bet his mask that the last scroll Danzo gave him is for Machiko Fujimoto, the new head of Root. 

And maybe Horse is being too optimistic, but he has a feeling. A good one, and it's been so long since he's felt good feelings that he's not quite sure what it is, but it's bubbling up inside of him, making him warm and excited.

He glances down at the scroll and smiles, a small but real smile, and looks up again.

It's only when he's running along the rooftops towards the North Quarter when he remembers the name of the feeling that he hasn't felt it since Tortoise-san died.

Hope.

And only later, when Noot shinobi Horse settles down in Machiko-sama's living room in his sleeping pack, does he realize that the feeling is mutual for all the new Noot shinobi, from the youngest trainee to the most emotionless soldier.

Hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY! happy ending! for now mwahaha.


	5. I have a small meltdown and break the universe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I realize that this wasn't supposed to happen, and I buy some new paint. Some Noot shinobi make a choice. The universe scheme's.

 

 "Alright, Noots! What do we do! Any suggestions?" I yelled out, going for _enthusiastic_ , but instead getting _slightly desperate and mildly insane_. Who wouldn't be in my situation?

"Really, we have to do something. Any ideas? This is a judge-free zone. Speak up, freedom of speech and all that."

A boy, around fourteen and holding a tiger mask, speaks up. "Um, maybe you can try... try..." He stutters and dons an expression of mild fear and anxiety as I turn my gaze on him, which is not the effect I'm going for. He flails around for a second before taking a deep breath and... It's hard to describe. It's almost as if he's slamming a wall down on his emotions, his face evening out and his eyes going blank, his spine straightening up and his shoulders squaring.

"Forgive me, Fujimoto-sama. I have spoken out-" He speaks in a monotonous voice, devoid of all emotion, and the awkward teen is replaced by a killer with no feelings or emotions, only a will to serve and an objective. Creepy.

"Can it." I interrupt before he can go on. "You're good. I asked if anyone wanted to speak, and you did. And stop calling me sama! It's annoying. Call me Machiko, or Machiko-san if you're feeling fancy. I would like to hear your idea."

The wall lets up and a few emotions start to peek through. "I... I'm sor- No, I-" He mummers, and he closes his eyes for a second to regroup. I let him.

"Okay, okay. I think that you should try to make a... a list, maybe. You could put down all the things that you need to do and it mighthelpyoureorganizeyourthoughts? IthelpsmesometimesandI-"

Is he blushing? Defenantly blushing. Oh dear. When I said that they could feel love, I didn't mean it like that. 

"I think I got the gist of that. That's actually a good idea. I'll do that! Yeah! Now, where are my papers..."

I mill around a bit, looking for some papers and a pencil, while the Noot agents sit there awkwardly. They look like puppies.

I then realize that I just compared highly dangerous and trained killers to puppies.

Sounds about right.

I locate my paper and pencil and sit down on the couch. Alright. I might as well write in English. Better safe than sorry.

 

  1. Get a bigger house.
  2. Try not to die.
  3. Don't get caught.
  4. Get a bunch of food



I try to think of more things and I end up glancing down at the Noots. Their respective masks are still on their laps, and they're creepy as heck. They look similar to the ANBU masks, but the eyeholes seem a bit smaller and they have no color what-so-ever. They all blend together even when apart, and I'm pretty sure that its supposed  to represent another face in the crowd, one entity instead of different people. Not only boring but also kind of depressing. I brighten up a bit when I realize that I could add that to the list.

    5. Change those creepy masks. Maybe paint them?

I pause for a second. Painting the creepy masks might actually be a good idea! It could get them to show their individuality and give them something to do while I think of what I'm doing next. It could be their first official act as Noot agents! It's also pretty meaningful. I am so smart.

"Alright, Noots! I'm calling you that now. Our first official act is painting your depressing masks! They are  _so_ drab. Dunno what Danzo was thinking, choosing those. I'm going to go get some paint and figure things out, all of you stay here. If a civilian knocks, don't answer. I know there's a sensor or two in your group, so make sure they aren't hostile. If a ninja knocks, get away as fast as possible. Don't think about me, just run. Toodles!" I say, turning to the door and grabbing my keys and wallet.

"Wait, Machiko-san!" someone says. I turn around, and Horse blushes and looks away when I make eye contact. Again with the crushes. Why me? Plenty of other emotionless fish in the sea.

"Yes?" I ask.

He blushes some more and fidgets. "I think that  I should accompany you! To the store, I mean. Extra protection! What if something happens?"

"If something happens,  which is very unlikely, then I'll run away like the civilian I am. If have ninja backup then it would be very suspicious, don't you think? They're probably on the lookout for a backup Danzo right now, which is me. So if  _something_ happens and a random civilian with her odd friend who doesn't know how to socialize properly runs away, then that's not very suspicious at all. If the odd friend who secretly has ninja skills defends me, a nameless civilian, and is unrecognized by literally  _everyone_ and has, may I add, no papers, then it would be very suspicious. I'd rather not be executed for treason, thankyouverymuch."

He looks absolutely heartbroken and gives me the saddest eyes I've ever seen, and it's weird how much emotion everyone is showing, now that I think about it. Didn't Danzo spend years training and brainwashing them or something?

It was probably a well-loved mentor who everyone loved who died tragically trying to make a stand who taught them how to hide their emotions with a metaphorical cloak.

But what do I know?

I waver a bit when he turns those puppy eyes on me and he somehow manages to turn them up when he sees my reaction. I hesitate for a moment, wavering. 

"Fine. Fine! Stop it with the eyes! You can come with me, but don't be obvious. If there's trouble or whatever, get out of sight, get the Noot, and tell them to leave, then find me and tell me where they are, okay?"

The puppy eyes immediately disappear. He grins, and I vaguely realize that I've been played.

"What eyes?" 

* * *

 

We head out after I force him to agree to my terms, and we immediately come across a shinobi, even though I live on the more civilian side of town. 

She's only a chunin, I could tell by the flak jacket, but Horse immediately tenses up, his hand inching towards where his kunai pouch would be (That I made him take out because that is _screaming_ suspicious, but who knows how many other weapons he has). Luckily she's engrossed in what I think is the greatest translated book from another dimension ever, AKA Harry Potter, and she doesn't notice at all us at all. When she's out of sight, I elbow Horse hard. 

" _What was that?_ " I hiss, slightly annoyed.

Horse shrinks a bit and looks kind of pitiful and his expression makes me feel bad. He's a twelve-year-old ninja who's killed at least dozens of people, how can he be so adorable and puppy-like? 

"I'm sorry. I just... tensed. I'll try harder to relax this time, Machiko-sama."

"Stop it with the sama, and it's okay, mistakes happen. Let's just get in, get out." I pause for a moment. "That sounds really suspicious and dangerous, but we are literally buying paint," I mutter, a second later.

The sun was just beginning to set by the time we got back. I walked in the door without knocking and almost got sliced (Why didn't they hear the lock?), but that's okay. They apologized profusely and I turned it into a learning moment.

After a bit of confusion, and a good use of a convinient tarp, the Noot started painting their masks with swirls and splotches of every color (Except for brown, because I outlawed brown and brown sucks).

While they did that, I got a moment to think. 

So much happened in one day. I got a scroll and then a small army of people, most of them younger than me. Orphans, clan children-

Clan children. I have clan children in my care, with families and friends before they were kidnapped.

Family and friends that are now looking for them, and would happily murder the person who stole them.

Me now, since Danzo's dead.

Shoot.

I couldn't just turn them in, and although Konoha may be the nicest of the hidden villages, they wouldn't hesitate to kill me when they found out about me.

I couldn't just abandon the Noot and let them fend for themselves either, with the seals on their tounges. They looked so hopeful, too, when I told them that they were free to feel. If the T&I found them, half of them would probably commit suicide without a thought, just because they were trained to. Then everyone would kill me for abandoning children.

So either die or die.

Great.

There are probably more options, but I'm no Nara. I suck at planning.

So I'm just going to have to wing it.

Should I give them a choice to return to their families? I have to, I can't be selfish, not now. I walked over to the Noot who are happily painting swirls on their masks.

"Hey, how many of you are clan children whose clans are still alive, or at least have one member that would take care of them?

Several hands went up. One, two, three...

Sixteen clan children between what looks like the ages of seven and twelve. Alright.

"Follow me," I said, and my voice must have sounded weird because some of them tensed and a few more did the thing with the wall on the face.

"You aren't in trouble, I just want to talk. Come on, follow me to the bedroom, and close the door behind you. I could've phrased that way better."

They closed the door and I gestured for them to sit down. I sat down too.

"Okay, well-"

\--------------------

It **he** _she_ ~~~~ ~~~~they _hissed._

 _Everything was going wrong!_ _The clan children would want to go home, Machiko would be exposed and things would proceed in an orderly fashion, with Machiko easily and reasonably giving up her rights to the Noot, and then the story would be_ over. _Over!_  It _ **He**_ they ** _she_** _had already made enough mistakes, most of them on this run. If_ Creator-sama _found out about this,_ _it_ **she** they _ **he** would be killed, or worse, _recycled.  _Recycling was bad, very, very, bad._

 _it **she** they _ **he**_ frantically typed on a computer, long red hair settling on non-existent shoulders while brilliant blue eyes peered at the symbols over pale hands shifting from French to Ancient Egyptian to English to Japanese to Greek, the words drifting and changing colors and fonts, unreadable to most. All at once, the dark room glitched and shifted to green forests, the girl **boy**_ person ~~being~~ _now sporting short brown hair and perfectly normal brown eyes with tanned skin, her computer now a notepad. She adjusted her glasses and frantically scribbled while the space around her glitched and turned, scenes whirling by as features shifted and morphed, the (scribbling? Typing? Printing?) growing more frantic as blue green brown hazel gold purple green again red silver eyes narrowed and widened and narrowed again and skin went from dark to light to darker and hair grew and shrank-_

"Would you  **Stop That?"**

 _The (Room? Biome? Area?) stopped abruptly as once feminine features were now very masculine, the ~~man~~_ _woman_ person **being** _now perched on a swivel chair in a very silent office, laptop on lap._ **  
**

" _Thank_ you."

 _What to do?_ Creator-sama  _hates messy writing, but I don't have a choice! It was already a stretch to have that stupid seal just _appear, _what is_ Creator-sama _going to think now? What to do, what to do! This whole project was already a bad idea, and choosing Lily was just just a mistake from the start! To be RECYCLED! Shudder... Pulled along in some writer's story, only really existing in thought, having my actions controlled? NO!_

Ithe _ **she**_ _ ~~they~~ winced, green hair waving as it grew out, brown eyes changing to a brilliant red without prompt. Recycling was a very possible choice, if something wasn't done RIGHT NOW. _ Creator-sama  _liked subtle things, a little push or nod, a sudden traffic accident by an unnameable_ _pedestrian, a man who had a slightly more potent batch of beer, an avalanche caused by a stray rock from nowhere. Little things._

 _But this wouldn't be very little at all, if the clan children were to stay when it would make much more sense for them to leave. Machiko can't be suspicious either, which means even more direct meddling. Metaphorical heart pounding, the_ **being** _reached for the now existing button, orange green blue black bronze eyes flashing in nervousness as hair grew and shrank and grew again, flipping through colors and shapes and styles. A gentle finger was placed hesitatingly before the button was hesitantly pushed. Nothing happened, but the blocky pc from Earth 1290013's (Lily's world) 90s streamed video as the children responded to Machiko, while dark brown hair grew out and bronze eyes morphed to grey, skin tanning slightly._

 _The_ **being** _paused. Maybe she wasn't in trouble? Maybe-_

 _The_ man _gir ~~lboy~~_ person _woman_ ~~ **BEING**~~ ~~person~~ man ~~ _gir ~~l~~_~~ _boy_ ~~person~~ woman ~~ ~~person~~~~

Human.

The human.

The human screamed, falling and forgetting.

\---------------------

 "-So I want you to know... Hey, are you guys okay?" The clan children (Some of them from clans that I had never heard of, and one of them half  _Uchiha)_   **(A/N just made that up)** who had been listening and nodding along all collectively froze. They stared blankly at me, no,  _through me,_ and it seemed like they stopped breathing for a moment. I waved my hand in front of their faces, and they all snapped out of it.

"Sorry, Fujimo-" a few of them started.

I glared at them and they hastily corrected themselves.

"Sorry, Machiko-nee," a few of them said.

I started to nod before I stopped. "Machiko-nee? I thought that you wanted to go home?"

The children all shook their head at the same time, which was very very creepy.

"No Machiko-nee! We want to stay here with you! You saved us from evil Danzo, and you let us paint our boring masks. My parents probably don't remember me, anyway!" One of them said enthusiastically.

"Yeah! It's not like anyone remembers me, either! I was always on the streets!"

"I'm from an overcrowded orphanage!"

"I'm from a minor clan and was slightly neglected!"

"I'm from a major clan and had a loving upbringing, but hey, screw 'em!"

"My clan's dead!"

 _That... is very out of character_ , I thought, not hearing the last couple of enthusiastic shouts. These people simply did not do _enthusiasm,_ they didn't just decide to remain in a _stranger's_ care _._ The sudden change in personality was very weird, and just... suspicious, but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

I quickly forgot about it though because I wasn't going to die, if I played my cards right. Maybe this could work out. Maybe we could all be happy.

Maybe we can all be okay, and maybe I could make a stand while sitting.

Weird analogy, but you get the point.


	6. o0Oo0o obvious foreshadowing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone changes and Horse likes glitter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sticking the first names in front of the last names in this story btw because why not.

So you know that waitress that appeared in chapter one, served tea or something and then left? Yeah, me neither, but time for a useless recap of her life and a short bonus montage of an imaginary ninja.

A couple months younger than Machiko, Mayumi Kozutsami was... well, nobody really knew.

If a ninja happened to want to know about this very unremarkable girl and looked through her files, they would find absolutely nothing of importance. Five older siblings, she being the second youngest one, slightly neglected but not enough to cause any issues, moved out at 16, and a document that needed renewing. Plain, No friends, mostly separated from her family, worked at a small yet popular tea shop. Lived in a one bedroom, one bath apartment in a less decent part of town, but that was all.

If said ninja was unsatisfied with this information, they would usually head to the civilian shopping district and ask one of the local gossips. (It was a well-kept secret that a couple of the older gossipers were retired kunoichi, though only the ANBU and Jounin knew. Most ninja who were looking for some info and not in the biggest hurry would avoid them though because they were intimidating on a good day.) The biggest Non-ninja gossip would be Taru Asari, who knew almost every civilian in her area. 

If the very paranoid ninja asked this Taru about Mayumi, Taru would blink, then ask if you were joking. When the ninja inevitably says no, Taru would shrug and probably say something along the lines of, "Oh her? Mayumi, Mayumi. She works at the little tea shop at the corner, I think. You know the one. Very shy, kind of plain, hardworking, but not extremely so. I saw her buy some canvases once, and my friend saw her buy paint, so I guess she does that. Her family had some drama lately, but I don't think she was involved. Now, why is a ninja like you asking about a girl like her, hmm?  _Tell me everything._ "

The ninja would then wish that they had just gone to a kunoichi, before being subjected to the worst interrogation of their life, while the occasional passing ninja would stop, shake their head, and mummer prayers.

The slightly frazzled and very scarred ninja would probably just take to some good old stalking, at that point. Following Mayumi home, watching her eat her slightly sad dinner in her slightly below average apartment, falling asleep in a tree...

Well, needless to say, the ninja wouldn't be able to find anything and would go home a week later, feeling foolish and dejected, before promptly forgetting about her.

If a ninja even took  _notice_ of her in the first place.

Which nobody ever did.

So nobody really noticed or cared when she asked for a week off for  _personal reasons._ And nobody really noticed or cared when she came back... Different.

 

~-~-~-~-~-~~-~-~-~-~-~

The nice, warm, happy feeling that I got lasted for a whole of ten seconds.

New record.

I was all smiles and the kids were all happy until I spotted two heads in the back, looking at each other. 

I would have looked over them, thinking that they were just some happy kids rejoicing or whatever, when one of them with auburn hair and the prettiest golden eyes ever looks up at me and meets my eyes, and I get the feeling that I'm supposed to recognize him.

Since the last time I got the feeling was because of the all-around crazy perv Danzo, I decided to start forming bonds and stuff by introducing myself to them. (And maybe try to make sure they don't end up joining the Akatsuki or whatever. What? It's been a while, okay? I didn't bother writing down any information because I was never supposed to be in canon, but I guess all of  _that_ has been thoroughly thrown out the window.)

"Yo! Machiko Fujimoto, head of Noot, but you already know that, because you sat through the last half hour with me. Off to a great start, Machiko. What are your names?"

Outside, I'm, all smiles and politeness with a bit of self-deprecation, but inside I'm dying and decaying and screaming. Why, social skills, why.

"Fu Yamanaka," the auburnette (Is that a word? It is now) says, and I blinked. Familiar... Familiar... I'll remember it later. I turned to the black haired boy, and I blinked some more when I looked at his choice of...  _Creative_ headgear.

Whatever. Who am I to judge? I'm the one who got reincarnated as one of my OC's and took over NOOT. 

"Torune Aburame."

I got the feeling that I should've known that name, but it kept on niggling on the edge of my consciousness, like a word that you can't seem to remember how to pronounce. You see, unlike basically every other self-insert from long ago (And believe me, I've read  _a lot_ of them) I wasn't born with my memories and adult mind, thank infantile amnesia. I always got the feeling that something was off, that I didn't quite belong since the moment I came to, and I  _knew_ that I had died, but I kind of just brushed it off and went on my merry way. I got most of my memories in the form of dreams, but nowadays I just get useless tidbits like,  _My other OC had rainbow_ hair,and, M _y favorite food was that vegetable soup from that restaurant,_ and, _My room used to be teal,_ and the occasional dream about the backstory of a background character that no one cared about. 

I was nine and in the academy when I started to get my memodreams (That's what I call them now), some memories later than others, and all of them out of order. By the time I got them all sorted out, I realized that being a civilian in the Naruto world may suck _balls,_ but at least I wouldn't die at fifteen because let's face it, I wasn't exactly a model student. A fact only accentuated with my very beloved academy sensei dying on a simple C-rank turned A-rank a few days later.

I noped out of there as fast as humanly possible, got my dad to hook me up with a sweet job as a waitress right in time for the Kyuubi, started coming up with (Read: Stealing) book ideas in my free time, and here I am, 19 years old and very sane.

Back to the topic. 

Aburame was the bug clan, I knew that. They had kiki-somethings or whatever. Didn't one dude have special purple bugs? They were super poisonous. Did Torune have the weird bugs? I think so.

Ugh. My brain's short-circuiting. WAY too much, way too fast. Compartmentalize, though at this point I was going to have a seizure if something else happened. Time to end this before I implode.

"Alright then, nice to meet you two. Hey, brats! Go back and paint your masks, ne? If you need any help or inspiration, don't be afraid to ask. Remember, BRIGHT COLORS! Off you go!"

The children nodded, grinning slightly, and neatly filed out the door of my room. I smiled back at their retreating backs, quietly closed the door, and pretended I was normal for a few precious seconds. And then flopped back on my bed when no one was looking and screamed into a pillow.

"aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA _AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH **HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**_."

Horse looked up from painting his mask (It was purple, and he had decided that it was now his favorite color), his slightly-more-sensitive than normal ears picking up sound from the bedroom. Fuji... _Machiko-san_ (How exhilarating, to call a superior by their name, to add  _-san_  instead of -sama to it, as if they were  _equals_ ) The door wasn't shut all the way, and he could see her face buried in a pillow. He looked at his purple mask to Machiko-san and back, and decided that she probably just needed to relieve some stress. He nodded to the agents who noticed the, ah, screaming, and made a mental note to tell Machiko-sam-san, Machiko- _san_ , those who didn't notice who should've, the slackers. Just because Machiko-san was nice and pretty and smelled good and... Well, just because she was  _great_ and because they had fortified the apartment so well that the Hokage would have trouble getting in, didn't mean that they could just slack off.

The mental note that was forgotten immediately as Horse spotted a pack of recently bought glitter on the counter.  _Yesssssss._ His mask was going to look  _so_ good, and he was going to make Machiko-sama  _proud._ _So proud,_ he thought as he used his ninja skills to inch towards the glitter. _So very proud._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOO im sorry for not updating and THANK YOU FOR ALL THE SUPPORT!! I had this chapter half written out and nothing else but that last  
> comment from Foodmoon really helped, so thanks for that, BUT THANK YOU ALL TOO! YAyyyy. I'll try to start replying more to comments, also, because I'm bad at expressing things and talking outside of a premise for a story and I'm awkward and I kind of do this thing where I overthink and ramble and here I go yay


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone becomes a new person, and Machiko dies a little.

Mayumi Kozutsami was an extra, even she knew that.

She knew that she was so normal that it was abnormal, had the social life of a blade of grass, and was so plain that it physically hurt to look in the mirror. She painted to get her feelings out from time to time, but they were all horrible and a waste of money and Mayumi always immediately threw them away. She worked at a small teashop that was popular with both local civilians and tourists (Ninja never came in for some reason; maybe because of the layout? She overheard her coworkers say that once. But what if they were just out of uniform?) She always served an old man and a nice girl that was her age, but she never worked up the nerve to talk to her. She would make up fantasies in her head, of meeting the girl and hitting it off immediately, of going on adventures with the girl and saying the funniest things...

But then the girl would come with the old man, Mayumi would get a bad feeling and she would always chicken out, telling herself that she would have embarrassed herself anyways and that she could try again next time.

Machiko (She had overheard the girl's name a few weeks ago, and just the thought of knowing it, being one step closer to actually knowing _her_ sent a thrill down her spine) had shown up today and ordered her usual, but the old man didn't show up after about ten minutes. Machiko looked disappointed and started to drain her cup. _Here's my chance,_ she thought from behind the counter. 

She took a step forward...

And immediately chickened out. 

She couldn't do this! She didn't even  _know_ the girl! What was she supposed to say?  _Hi Machiko, don't question how I know your name, my name is Mayumi and let's be best friends!_ She briefly wondered if this was normal. People didn't just... fantasize about being best friends with someone that they didn't know, right? She mentally groaned. She needed a break to clear her mind, to think, and to stop being weird. No wonder she didn't have any friends if she always acted like this around other people. She would get a break, find a hobby, and stop obsessing over a girl she occasionally saw. 

Later that day, Mayumi walked out of the shop a free girl. For a week at least. She was going to be active! Pretend to be a tourist (It's not like anybody knew about her anyway), grab a pamphlet and see the sights. She grinned. She was going to go on a  _hike,_ with  _nature_ and  _birds_ , and then she would... Well, she didn't know yet, but it was going to be great. She knew that there were quite a few walks for civilians, but she just didn't know where they were, hence the pamphlet. She grinned again, and a passing couple looked at her strangely. She would have normally fidgeted and blushed, but Mayumi didn't notice them at all. She was on the top of the  _world._ She was going to come back to work a  _new girl._

The hopeful, happy feeling disappeared an hour later though when it started to get dark on the supposedly 25-minute trail. She had heard an alarm a while ago, but had managed to get turned around while trying to find her way back to the main village. She felt like crying, but she stubbornly pushed onwards. Where was she, anyway? She had looked at the map on the pamphlet again but to no avail. She was starting to get hungry too. Stupid Mayumi, not bringing anything other than a canteen of water. Stupid, stupid!

She stopped for a moment, leaning on a tree. She looked up at the sky and saw a star peeking through the branches above. She closed her eyes and wished that she was just a little braver, a little stronger, a little smarter. More confident, able to make friends, and capable of getting out of this  _stupid forest._ She took back her excitement for hiking. This  _sucked_. She would never go hiking again! She would get another hobby. Ooh, an animal! She heard that pets could relieve stress. She could do that, right? A dog or a cat maybe, or even just a fish. A fish would be fine, even she couldn't mess that up.

Mayumi, caught up in her thoughts, didn't notice the 'star' steadily growing closer and closer, a tiny ball of light hurtling to her spot. 

She opened her eyes, determination back. She was going to find her way home and get a fish, one of those cool colorful ones that-

Nobody heard her screams.

 **S _ ~~o~~_** m ~~~~ ** _e_** ~~b ** _o_** _d_~~ _y_ laughed. She would get her wish, alright. She would go back to Konoha a  _new girl._

 

_~-~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-woo transition~-~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-_

_I kind of want to explode,_ I thought as I buried myself in covers. _So tired._

So much had happened in one day, I just gave up trying to process everything and had started pushing all thoughts to the back of my mind. And now that I was finally by myself...

I kind of want to die, and I briefly wondered if Horse would give me an exploding tag if I said that it was for research.

Horse.

It was... kind of terrible that Horse couldn't even remember his name. Not many people could, and that's what they were, people. Not machines or things, actual people with actual flaws and actual feelings, and it was great that they were already embracing that.

But something was off.

They, Horse especially, accepted me too quickly. Where were the killing machines I had come to associate with Root? Wasn't there that one boy who was a replacement for Sasuke? S... Shin? Sai? One of the two. Didn't he have no emotions whatsoever? Why were the shinobi so... open? There were a few that looked emotionless, yes, but only a few. What happened?

I pursed my lips. I had always been assuming that I was either in original canon and just did nothing (Which was obviously not true now) for the whole series, but what if I was wrong? What if I was in a canon look-alike, one where I existed when I wasn't supposed to and I just messed everything up? Maybe someone knew something and did something. Maybe in this universe...

I wouldn't be alone.

I didn't want to think about it, because  _oh Kami_  what if they tried to make more changes in the plot? Yes, I was a living contradiction, but what if I didn't do this? What if they tried to do something drastic with good intentions, only to mess everything up?! Didn't Sai or whatever end up marrying Ino? If they never meet because of me, then that's one less character in the future, a hole in a team.

I steered my thoughts away from that because there was _nothing_ I could do ( _but you_ could of _if you'd just tried to save them instead of just cowering-)_ Nope, bad.  _Nothing I could do. Nothing._

I scratched my shoulder absentmindedly and ran my fingers over the irritated skin, feeling raised lines instead of just smoothness. I stopped for a second, because that wasn't supposed to be there, and my brain oh so helpfully informed me that that was the seal stuck on me on some point. Right. Just the seal  _that could summon Noot members._

Friggin...

You know what? Screw this. _Fuck_ this. I was tired, exhausted, even, and it was a whopping... 

I looked at the clock.

A whopping 9:00 o'clock, great. I just... Ugh. Just, _sleep._ I could deal with this tomorrow.

I buried myself a little deeper and sighed.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter, but I have stuff and school and ugh. Ill be back soon!


	8. Chapter 8

Mayumi opened her eyes with a groan. She must have hit her head against that branch harder than she thought.

"Ow," she muttered, glaring at the path beneath her feet before looking up at the sky. "Stupid night time, stupid me. At least I'm close to the village."

She was close to the village, closer than she thought. She could see it's lights peeking out through the leaves. She picked herself off the ground and started again, making sure to avoid the low hanging branches as the forest grew thinner and the city became fully visible. She grinned as the small path widened and became a dirt road. 

 _Finally,_ she thought as she started to approach the district where she lived. The streets were empty and silent, the only movement coming from the brief flickers of streetlights above. The impatient feeling slowly grew to a more comprehensive one as she continued down the never-ending streets. What was she thinking? She slowed to a stop near a street that she was pretty sure she had already crossed. She lived in a not-so-reputable town and had never risked coming back after dark.

Unsure now, she started to back away. She was pretty sure there was a cheap inn nearby. She turned around, took a few steps forward...

And, for the second time that night, screamed.

 

~(-)~(-)~(-)~(-)~(-)~(-)~(-)~(-)~(-)~(-)~

 

_Running through the woods, have to go **have to go**. Genin nearby, not mine but close. This didn't happen, it never happened, I did something wrong Imessedup but it was happening right now, what was wrong, everything. Never ending forest, dark, darker yet darker, how did this happen it's all my fault. Water from the sky but there is no sky there is no ground, just dark forest going on and on and on-_

_Yellow, black, pink, silver, had to go had to go, going going. This didn't happen isn't happening, branches looming ahead..._

_Clearing, flash of familiar silver, unfamiliar wrong too many browns, blue, green, blondes, more. Not familiar, not my fault, could've done better-_

_Too many._

_One against four, five, six, where is yellow where is black where is pink-_

_Chirping in the storm._

_Three in a row, impressive._

_Slice, punch, dodge, kick, plant a tag, detonate._

_Charging up, can't move can't speak._

_Hood in my eyes cape billowing in the storm he doesn't see me._

_Jump in the way have to help he doesn't know what the enemy-_

_Turning around, REDBLACK **RED** ~~BLACK~~ wheels spinning, shifting..._

_Unrecognizing._

_Can't breathe can't move flashing eyes bleeding torso **Recognition.**_

 

 

 

"K̸͆ͤ͋͑̑͐͗ͫ͒̆̃͗̍͛̚aͧ̓ͩ͂̾̅ͪ͌̎̓͑͘͘҉͟͝k̍͌̏̀ͥ̋̐̀ͨ̇͌̾͒ͣ̿ͦ͊͝ą̷̊̍͌̏̆̄̌ͥͨ͂͏͞s̷̡̈́̂̋́ͫ͡͞h͛ͭͪͮ͛͒̋̓͌͑̀ͧ̆ͪ̽̊͐ͭ̋͡i̔̔̑ͣͬ͘͢͠-̵̧ͦ̎́͊̕͡"

_Crumpling in the rain, another dead body on the floor, lightning dancing across skin, deja vu to that night 18 years ago._

_But there's no Obito to save the night._

_A wave of enemies swooping in, disbelief echoing_

* * *

 

I gasped awake, sweat coating my body. That didn't happen, it was only a dream. Only a dream. I waited until my breaths slowed down and my heart stopped trying to jump out of my chest to look around. I was in my bedroom, and the beginnings of dawn were starting to creep in outside. The events of yesterday flooded back to me. Root, the seal, Danzo...

I sighed and creeped out of my room for some tea. Surely no one would be awake during-

"Good morning, Machiko-san!" Horse shouted cheerily.

I shrieked and three agents immediately materialized, swords at the ready. They sheathed them when they saw me in no danger, and stood there as if they were waiting for a command. 

Waiting for a- oh, I'm an idiot.

"Um... Dismissed. Oh! And, uh, thanks. For having my back."

They straightened up and nodded. One of them had the tiniest of smiles on her lips, but the others were blank. Just... blank. I restrained a shudder. That odd blankness was scarier than any normal expression.

They vanished with a tiny poof of smoke, giving me a chance to notice the kitchen and- Wow. Capital W and everything. They had really cleaned up the place. I mean, I wasn't really a messy person, but I wasn't exactly neat, either. Everything was organized, the carpet looked vacuumed, the books were in what I assume was alphabetical order, even the ceiling looked power washed. The painted masks were in a corner looking colorful and bright, the tarp folded up under them. The sleeping bags were nowhere to be seen Horse stared at me for a second, but I was too enraptured with the cleanliness. Did they fix that broken hinge on the cabinet...?

"Oh, my apologies, Machiko-sam _-san_! Machiko-san! We, um, didn't really know what to do since you didn't really give us commands- not that that's a bad thing! We appreciate the freedom. It's just we, um, didn't quite know what to do with the time, so we organized the place!"

He looked at me, nervous and hopeful at the same time. "Uh... Thanks," I managed. His face broke out in a wide grin, and I smiled blearily back. It was hard not to, but _Kami_ I needed my caffeine, and I needed it _now_. "Where... are the other members?"

"Oh!" Horse said, all puppy-like. I wondered where that cold blankness that he had gone, and almost missed his answer. "They went back to their posts! In ANBU, I mean. A lot of them were merged back when Root, I mean Noot, was "disbanded". Danzo-sama still kept them around though, for spies and stuff. The rest of us went to secure a backup base! We haven't done that yet. And don't worry Machiko-san, a couple of us stayed behind! To protect you."

I nodded, my mind catching up as a little bit of the sleepiness eroded. "And the children?"

Horse kept up his puppy-ness, and I wanted to ruffle his hair because _look at those eyes-_

"They're in the backup base, with the other Roo-Noot, Machiko-san."

I smiled at him and gave in to the temptation to ruffle his hair. I placed my hand on his head gently, carefully (Puppy-like or not, he was still a highly-trained ninja) and slowly ruffled his hair. He looked up at me through big amber eyes, suddenly looking very vulnerable, his enthusiastic and nervous smile softening a little.

I grinned at him as his hair fluffed up under my hand.

He grinned back, and it somehow felt more real than anything I had ever seen before.

* * *

"How  _could_ you?" Nara Shikaku seethed, bursting into the Hokage's office and slamming the door shut. 

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and raised his face from his hands before dismissing his Anbu and activating some privacy seals. He looked absolutely  _exhausted_  and, well, _old_. Everyone knew that the Hokage was very old for a ninja, but you could always see the youthfulness in his eyes, his expressions, his posture.Nara Shikaku hesitated for a second, clearly seeing the bone-deep exhaustion in his Hokage's eyes, but he still pressed on. 

"The Uchiha. You absolute  _fool._ You knew,  _you knew about Danzo_ , and you did nothing.  _Nothing."_

Hiruzen was silent for some moments. He looked old.

"I couldn't say anything," the Hokage finally said, his voice rough. Shikaku's eyes widened. Was Hiruzen... Was he crying?

"Konoha's most powerful clan, wiped out in a  _day._  Because the murderer was on orders from a trusted councilman? No. I couldn't say anything, Shikaku."

Shikaku's eyes narrowed. "But you suspected," he accused. "You knew about Root's activities, you knew about Danzo's feelings about the Uchiha. You knew he was going to do something. And when he did, you disbanded his organization. Danzo drove a _boy_ to massacre his entire clan, made him think it was his only choice. You suspected something. You did  _nothing._ And here we are."

Hiruzen was silent again, looking down at his desk. Shikaku felt a hint of guilt for piling all of this on a mostly good Hokage, but he quickly expelled it. Now wasn't the time.

"When did you find out?" Hiruzen said after a long pause.

"Your Anbu. You gave them permission to report to me. And they did, when they found all the evidence, almost as if they didn't want to look you in the eye." Shikaku immediately internally winced. His composure always vanished when he got angry.

Hiruzen's jaw tightened. Shikaku tried for a softer tone. "The Anbu... are restless. It seems like a lot of them have figured out something's wrong, even if most of them don't know what it was."

The Hokage sighed once again, meeting Shikaku's eyes. "Tell them nothing, not yet," he said quietly. "I will tell them, the people, one day. But not today. Now is not the time."

Shikaku nodded as his remaining anger drained out of him. He slumped down in his usual bad posture. "And the people?" He asked quietly. "The rumors are flying about like crazy. A councilman just got high and attacked his own village with some strange Anbu, is what they know. SHould I release a statement?"

Hiruzen nodded. "Yes," he murmured. He took a deep breath, in and out. "Dismissed."

He looked old, very, very old.

Shikaku left, and noticed how the old Hokage didn't lower his privacy seals or call back his Anbu. 

He turned away.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not very satisfied with this chapter but the draft has been sitting here for weeks and I had to finish it. Expect some naming in the next chapter!


End file.
